Surgical management of open tibial shaft fractures in adults by reamed versus unreamed intramedullary interlocking nailing: A comparative study

Abstract

Back ground and objectives: Tibial diaphyseal fractures are one of the commonest long bone fractures encountered by most of the orthopaedic surgeons. Because most of the length of tibia is subcutaneous throughout, open fractures are more common in tibia than in any other major long bone. Because of high prevalence of complications associated with these fractures, management is often is difficult and the optimum method of treatment remains a subject of controversy. This prospective study was conducted at the department of orthopaedics, KIMS Hubli to evaluate and compare the results of closed interlocking intramedullary nailing with and without reaming in the treatment of the open fractures of mid shaft tibia in adults. It was done to compare the efficiency of interlocking intramedullary nailing with and without reaming in treatment of open fractures of mid shaft tibia with other studies in terms of time required for union, rate of malunion and malrotation, rate of infection and range of motion of ankle and knee joint.